India has become the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer by volume. Electronics exports have risen sharply, smartphones assembled in India are being shipped across the world, and global companies have expanded their manufacturing footprint in the country. Through Semicon 2.0, the government is now trying to move the industry beyond large-scale assembly by supporting component manufacturing, product design and research.
Yet, beneath these milestones lies a crucial question: how much of India’s electronics production is actually created within the country?
How much semiconductor value does India currently add?
There are two ways to measure India’s progress, and they produce different answers. The first is the gross value of components manufactured domestically. The second is domestic value addition, which measures the share of a finished product’s value generated within India rather than through imported inputs.
Electronic components accounted for only 9 per cent of India’s electronics production in 2023-24. With total electronics output of ₹9.52 trillion that year, the value of components produced domestically works out to about ₹85,700 crore. Globally, components accounted for around 42 per cent of electronics production in 2022.
On the other hand, domestic value addition in India’s mobile phone industry stands at 18–20 per cent, according to Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). This compares with 38–40 per cent in the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturing country, despite its continued dependence on some imported inputs.
